Shamrocks, leprechauns, and revelry; the American version of a traditional Irish celebration. St. Patrick’s Day had been celebrated in Ireland for thousands of years before US ideals “Americanized” the holiday. What began as an annual remembrance of Ireland’s Christian patron is now just another excuse for the national populace to go out and celebrate. Patrick was born in Britain near the end of the fourth century. He was kidnapped by Irish raiders at the age of sixteen and held captive in Ireland for six years. With the help of visions and dreams from God, Patrick escaped Ireland and spent fifteen years in religious training. After being ordained, Patrick returned to Ireland, where he spent the rest of his life ministering and converting the pagan Irish to Christianity. His ministry was unique in that, being familiar with Irish culture and traditions, Patrick sought to incorporate them into his ministry rather than eradicate them. One result of this was symbols such as the Celtic cross, which was a combination of the Christian cross and the sun, a sacred Irish symbol. Despite popular myth, St. Patrick never banished the snakes from Ireland; there were never any on the island to begin with! The story instead is an allusion to Patrick’s success in converting the Irish people, within 200 years of his arrival, the entire nation practiced Christianity. March 17, the day of St. Patrick’s death, then became a religious holiday of celebration for the Irish people. Despite the worldwide conviction that St. Patrick’s Day is a drinking holiday, laws in Ireland required that all pubs close on March 17 in observance of St. Patrick’s memory. This law was enforced until the 1970’s, when the nation of Ireland began to take advantage of the growing influx of tourists to the region. Today, the holiday is celebrated with much pomp and circumstance. Just as the Irish tradition of passing information orally to each generation allowed for the stories of St. Patrick to grow into legends, so too have the symbols associated with the holiday been changed by popular culture. The shamrock, a motif simultaneous with St. Patrick’s Day, was sacred to the Irish because it symbolized the rebirth of spring. With the beginning of the British occupation of Ireland, however, many native Irish sported the shamrock as a symbol of national pride and rebellion against English rule. The leprechaun, another popular symbol, was traditionally known as “lobaircin,” meaning “small bodied fellow.” These creatures play a small part in Celtic folklore, and were not even associated with the holiday until Disney released the movie “Darby O’Gill and the Little People,” which portrayed the leprechaun in a very different light. Although the American version of St. Patrick’s Day varies greatly from the original Irish version, it is still a popular holiday in the US. So this March 17, as you prepare to toast your friends, remember a traditional Irish slainte: May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, The insight to know where you are, and the foresight to know when you’ve gone too far.